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After posting a 24 wins and reaching the NCAA tournament in somewhat of a surprise in 2008-09, expectations grew for a program trying to rebuild from a losing season two years ago. Three starters returned in the fall, a prominent recruiting class was added, and there appeared to be enough depth and athletic ability to duplicate the success from the previous season. But after a 77-71 loss to Dayton in the NIT quarterfinals Wednesday left the Illini with a season-ending 21-15 record, a proud program with a loyal fan base that stuck through postseason disappointment realized there's still work to be done.
Somebody saw this coming.
Otherwise, the Illinois basketball coaching staff wouldn't have chosen the theme "Rise Up."
After posting a 24 wins and reaching the NCAA tournament in somewhat of a surprise in 2008-09, expectations grew for a program trying to rebuild from a losing season two years ago. Three starters returned in the fall, a prominent recruiting class was added, and there appeared to be enough depth and athletic ability to duplicate the success from the previous season.
But after a 77-71 loss to Dayton in the NIT quarterfinals Wednesday left the Illini with a season-ending 21-15 record, a proud program with a loyal fan base that stuck through postseason disappointment realized there's still work to be done.
A decisive loss to the Flyers might motivate the Illini in the offseason, where players improve individual skills and reshape their bodies.
"It's got to last through the spring, summer and fall, when you don't want to come in the gym,'' Illinois coach Bruce Weber said.
Despite the expected growth of this year's promising freshman class and three talented and cocky incoming recruits, Illini juniors Demetri McCamey, Mike Davis, Mike Tisdale and Bill Cole still form the nucleus.
"They have a taste of it,'' Weber said. "Now they have to put in the time to get there.''
Rise Up? After a loss to an athletic mid-major team in the NCAAs the previous season (anybody remember Western Kentucky?), there wasn't enough growth from Illinois. Among the returning starters from a year ago, only McCamey made a big move. He carried the Illini on offense and becoming a first-team all-Big Ten pick. Without his creating and scoring, Illinois wouldn't have won more than it lost. Not even close.
McCamey led the team in scoring at 15.1 points per game, and his 7.1 assists per game set a single-season school record and ranked second nationally. But McCamey wouldn't give himself a passing grade, perhaps another sign of more maturity.
"You judge a point guard not off stats but off the number of wins,'' McCamey said. "For me, it's unsuccessful. I didn't get my team to the NCAA tournament and we didn't win ballgames down the stretch. The numbers were good, but wins are what matters most.''
McCamey made himself into a better playing by passing, not scoring, Weber said, and there are times when McCamey could take fewer shots and make more passes. The Illini are better when McCamey gets 16 assists at Purdue rather than taking 19 shots against Dayton, but there are times when McCamey feels like he must do it all.
"He's been great,'' Weber said. "If we don't have him, we're not in games.''
While Cole overcame athletic limitations and gave the Illini another defender and heady leader on the court, Davis and Tisdale didn't take enough of a step forward.
Davis failed to add the perimeter shooting and ball-handling skills talked about a year ago, in part because of a summer injury. He's a talented rebounder. Tisdale is a talented jump shooter, but the Illini have little inside presence. Tisdale had some good games, just not enough of them.
Reserve forward Dominique Keller, the team's only senior, attempted to reconfigure himself into a scoring small forward instead of what Illinois needed: a strong defender inside who could help with rebounding and by adding toughness and energy. He played his way to the bench.
Can freshman guards D.J. Richardson and Brandon Paul be expected to create more opportunities off the dribble next season? Richardson, the Big Ten's co-freshman of the year, was steady, and Paul faces the challenge of harnessing his freakish athletic ability.
Freshman forward Tyler Griffey flashed signs of talent on offense but has to learn defensive principles. Joe Bertrand, who redshirted after the slow recovery from knee surgery, could become the backup point guard.
Waukegan forward Jereme Richmond headlines the recruiting class. Richmond and Robinson center Meyers Leonard bring size, athleticism and attitude. Guard Crandall Head is another superior athlete.
John Supinie can be reached at firstname.lastname@example.com.
Illinois report card
Front court -- C-
There's no inside presence. The slender Mike Davis and Mike Tisdale are capable jump shooters. Davis' game would blossom with some ball-handling skills. Tisdale can score inside with that old-school hook shot. Yet they both need bulk and more toughness. Bill Cole provided heady play, defense and leadership, and he logged more minutes than expected.
Back court -- A-
Demetri McCamey made the program's biggest jump. Do that again, and he's a NBA first-rounder. With insiders calling him a second-rounder at best this spring, he's expected to be back next season. D.J. Richardson was co-freshman of the year in the Big Ten, and his steady play made him look more like a sophomore. He'll be one of the league's top five defenders next winter.
Bench -- D
There wasn't as much depth as anticipated. Dominique Keller regressed, losing his playing time late in the season. Brandon Paul's transition to the college game wasn't as easy as his early scoring exploits made it seem, and he had the red light down the stretch. The inability of Alex Legion to make an impact also hurt. With Paul plus freshmen Tyler Griffey and Joe Bertrand, there's likely more depth next season, considering the addition of another top recruiting class.
Overall -- C-
It could be argued the bottom line is a pass/fail. Earn an NCAA bid, the season is a success. Without one, it's a failure. Even with this season's string of disappointments, there are big building blocks to a winner.
For the second straight season, Illinois will add a talented recruiting class, so there's reason to believe the program is headed back up the ladder. For a team with a proud tradition, it's been a long dry spell. Illinois hasn't won an NCAA tournament game since 2006. But better times seem around the corner.


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A trio of local real estate brokerages have earned spots in a new Real Trends 500 survey of top U.S. residential sellers.
Michael Saunders & Co. of Sarasota ranked 55th among the 500 largest agencies nationwide and was the highest locally based firm, with $1.95 billion in sales in 2012. That represented a 32 percent increase over the $1.48 billion it notched the year before.
Allison James Estates & Homes, an Internet-based broker headquartered in Punta Gorda, came in at 104th with $1.14 billion in closed sales, up 68 percent from $662.8 million the prior year.
Re/Max Alliance Group of Sarasota finished 145th, reporting $876.1 million in sales last year, an 8.5 percent improvement over its 2011 performance of $807.8 million.
Saunders, which has 600 agents and 24 offices throughout Southwest Florida, moved up from 59th place in sales in the last survey by Real Trends, a real estate research company based in Denver.
"By design, we do business along a particularly desirable swath of the Gulf Coast," Saunders said. "So to achieve this level of volume in just three Southwest Florida counties is a testament to our decades of focused expertise in our home region.
"It also underscores the confidence buyers and sellers place in our agents, along with confirming the wholesale rejuvenation of our local real estate market," she added.
The company's largest sale last year was a home at 1255 Westway Dr., in Sarasota's Lido Shores neighborhood, for $7.1 million. The listing belonged to Linda Dickinson, the firm's top-selling single agent for several years.
Saunders also ranked 14th among the top 50 brokers showing the largest increase in closed dollar volume from 2008 through 2012.
Premier Sotheby's International Realty, the Naples-based broker that sells extensively in the Sarasota-Manatee area, ranked 37th in the survey, up from 46th in 2011. It posted $2.28 billion in closed 2012 sales, a 32 percent gain from $1.72 billion the year before, according to Real Trends.
Judy Green, the firm's president and chief executive, said Premier Sotheby's also ranked No. 13 among the top 50 U.S. firms with an average home sales price of $748,737.
Those four brokers join three other local agencies that were ranked in the top 500 for closed transaction "sides," representing the seller, buyer or both.
Saunders ranked 78th, with 5,534 sides, up 22 percent for the year. Re/Max Alliance was 102nd, with 4,607 sides, up 1.5 percent. Allison James, whose agents work from home offices, came in at No. 103, with 4,581, a 57.5 percent increase.
Keller Williams-Lakewood Ranch was listed at No. 438, with 1,418 sides, an 8 percent gain, and Re/Max Anchor Realty, of Punta Gorda, was listed 451st with 1,388, 7 percent higher for the year.
Premier Sotheby's International was ranked at No. 164, with 3,052 sides, up 35 percent.
Real Trends editor Steve Murray said a record number of agencies closed more than $1 billion in sales and more than 1,000 units last year.
"Many of the firms that had increased unit sales accomplished this through organic growth, while merger activity remained slower than in years past," he said.
"We expect acquisition activity to pick up, however, in the years to come as the market consolidates."
Saunders is top local brokerage on Real Trends 500
A trio of local real estate brokerages have earned spots in a new Real Trends 500 survey of top U.S. residential sellers.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Get notified when changes occur that match your favorite searches. Every day when new listings are added or updated you will receive an email alerting you of the changes.
Find the link "Email Alert" at the top of every search result. After filling out a short form, you will be kept up to date on all changes.
Example image of Email Alert link.
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Hey everyone, my name is Matthew Steagald, owner and host of the Steakhouse Entertainment Podcast, join myself, Sammy, Mark, Steve, and Eddie along with other guests as we unite to bring you some of the nerdiest conversations around.
You can find out more about us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and on our website
Apr 6, 2016
This weeks, episode we discussed some topics from recent weeks,
such as Batman vs Superman, FFXV, and we also talked about TellTale
games and the popularity of episodic games.
Steakhouse Entertainment is here to quench your nerd needs! Every week we will be bringing you the latest news and reviews at SteakhouseEntertainment.com
The Steakhouse Entertainment Podcast, can be heard every Wednesday afternoon on your commute home!
You can also follow us on Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube!
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What is Acne?
Acne is a common human skin disease that, while prevalent during adolescence, can affect adults as well. Acne appears most often on the face but it can also appear on the neck, chest, back, and upper arms. Acne develops when naturally-occurring skin oils called "sebum," along with dead skin cells, clog hair follicles and/or pores in the skin.
The clogged pores create an ideal environment for bacteria on the skin, which exacerbates pimples, whiteheads and the other symptoms of acne. Acne is an equal opportunity condition that affects men and women of all races.
Acne Treatment Options?
Acne symptoms vary widely, both in the severity of blemishes and the areas affected. Some people may get a few blemishes such as pimples, whiteheads or blackheads. More severe blemishes include papules, blemishes that contain pus or other fluid, called pustules, and nodules, or firm lesions under the skin. These can all occur in localized areas or in large patches on the face, back, chest, neck, shoulders, upper arms and buttocks.
What causes Acne?
Worldwide, acne affects approximately 650 million people, making it the world's most prevalent skin condition and the eighth most common disease overall. Individuals looking to improve their skin, even out their skin tone and reduce acne scars are the prime recipients of acne peel treatments. This treatment is also common for individuals seeking younger, healthier looking skin.
What can treat Acne?
If you have acne, our skin experts can develop a treatment plan that is safe, effective and personalized for your health needs and the condition of your skin.


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Xiao Gui wrote:Here is somewhere we can take this discussion:
1. I don't have this stats: who are the "fat" people in America? Race, gender, social class, etc etc etc...
2. I notice that my weight tend to go up a lot when I eat out frequently or eat other fast food such as instant noodle, craft dinner. Why is that? Who tend to eat out more and why? Who can afford the time and money to cook nutriential and healthy meals three times a day?
1. Race: I'm not going to touch that one.
Women automatically have a higher level of body fat than men, and they are less likely to have a menial labor job, they are also more likely to go on eating binges.
People in the lower income 'class' are more likely to be overweight. They're also more likely to be drunks, and these two are connected.
2. You just need to pick the right things when you eat out. The low carb fad isn't the answer, but staying away from greasy stuff(like fries) is a good start.
Instant noodles have almost nothing for you, plus they're full of the real enemy-saturated fat.
Instant foods and preserved foods you really need to look out for. Learn the ingredients you don't want, and start reading the labels.


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You are currently browsing the tag archive for the 'imaginary friends' tag.
As you know the September Challenge became the October challenge and that kind of segued into November and we still didn't have any entries.
I rattled some sabres. Sent out pleas. Threats. Practically begged. All but fell on my knees. Asked repeatedly, 'Do we want to do these or not?'. The replies almost always came back enthusiastically, not so enthusiastically, but in essence 'Yes'. However, by the time November rolled around I had also identified and got on board a writer to critique our stories. And all I had were two entries. So, in desperation and to make up a decent number of entries I wrote one story myself. And I do hope I won't ever have to do that again.
The challenge was:
One day your smart phone screen changes into a jungle … Tell a story in under 2000 words what happens when you discover this.
Our judge, as I mentioned in one of several emails was Alex Shaw
Alex Shaw
ALEX SHAW B.A.(Hons), P.G.C.E. spent the second half of the 1990s in Kyiv, Ukraine, teaching Drama and running his own business consultancy before being head-hunted for a division of Siemens. The next few years saw him doing business for the company across the former USSR, the Middle East, and Africa.
Alex is an active member of the ITW (The International Thriller Writers organisation) and the CWA (the Crime Writers Association). He is the author of the #1 International Kindle Bestselling 'Aidan Snow SAS thrillers' COLD BLOOD & COLD BLACK and the new DELTA FORCE VAMPIRE series of books. His writing has also been published in the thriller anthologies DEATH TOLL, DEATH TOLL 2 and ACTION PULSE POUNDING TALES 2 alongside International Bestselling authors Stephen Leather and Matt Hilton.
COLD BLOOD and COLD BLACK are commercially published by ENDEAVOUR PRESS.
COLD EAST – The third Aidan Snow Thriller will be published in January 2015.
Alex, his wife and their two sons divide their time between homes in Kyiv, Ukraine and Worthing, England. Alex can be contacted via his website www.alexwshaw.com You can also follow Alex on twitter: @alexshawhetman
You can find out more about him here:
FB author page: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Alex-Shaw/383476491724127
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6550104.Alex_Shaw
Authorgraph: https://www.authorgraph.com/authors/alexshawhetman
Amazon Author's page: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Alex-Shaw/e/B002EQ6R9G/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_1
Alex's Selections were was below:
by Michelle Schultz
I was swiping fat snowflakes from my eyelashes when the phone rang. I dug around in my coat pockets, trying to remember where I'd dumped the phone. I had only bought it last week, one more thing to buy after moving overseas. My half-numb fingers finally found it and pressed it against my cap.
"Hello?" I said. I shifted from foot to foot, wishing there was not so much space between my boots and the hem of my skirt.
Around me, the dim Manchester morning was silent except for the thick static of snowflakes drifting slowly down. On a Saturday, few cars braved the unplowed roads, scoring muddy tracks through the clean white expanse of snow.
I didn't hear anything, so I pulled my cap aside. I said hello again, pressing the phone tight to my ear. I thought I could hear rain falling.
The slick, cold surface suddenly turned warm and wet against my ear.
I screamed and dropped the phone right in the snow. I scratched at my ear frantically, trying to get whatever was on it off.
My chapped fingers came away wet, streaked with golden pollen.
I looked down. A scatter of pink and purple petals mingled with the pristine snow around the bus stop. My phone had landed facedown in the snow. All around it, the snow was melting, leaving a widening circle of black asphalt.
I gripped the phone by the edges and lifted it up. Instead of the high-resolution icons and default wallpaper, deep green leaves shivered under a patter of rain behind the glossy black frame of my phone. I tilted the screen, noticing the lack of a reflection. I poked at the image of a leaf, and it bent underneath my touch, leaving my fingertip golden.
Holding the phone away from me, I turned and headed back toward home.
"Well, that's hardly useful," I snorted. "Why is the window so small? It's not like I'll fit through there."
"Melanie? Back so soon?" John asked, peering into the entryway when I banged the door shut. He was still in his flannel pajamas, his feet hidden in slippers.
In answer, I held up the phone. It was still leaking rainwater and the odd petal.
"You're kidding me!" he said. He took the phone from me, cradling it as if the leaves were going to bite him. "So where's this?"
"Don't know," I said, pulling off my snowy boots.
"You have to," he said, following at my heels as I went to wash the pollen off my hands. I could see streaks of it on my coat as well. "You make the gates."
"Not on purpose," I corrected, rolling my eyes. "They just… happen."
"Could they happen to something cheap next time?"
"I didn't want a phone in the first place. Their big reflective screens can be problematic," I said a little nastily.
As I dried my hands, a butterfly popped out of the phone and started investigating the kitchen.
"Maybe we should close it?" John asked. To his credit, he didn't look enthusiastic about it. He had been forced to close a few gates over the years when I couldn't bring myself to do it. It usually involved destruction of the object in question.
"Not yet," I said. I lay the phone so I could look down into the jungle. "Just put a cloth over it so no bugs get through."
"You think this one will go away?"
"First time for everything," I said with a shrug. From my pocket, I pulled the list of items we needed to finish making our new home livable. "I don't feel like shopping anymore."
A few hours later, John took the list and walked down the icy sidewalk to the nearest store. I had wanted to explore a bigger city this morning, but my exploratory mood had soured.
Instead, I was curled on the sofa with a notebook, trying to think of a way to start my new blog post. I usually wrote about self-improvement, meaning organic food and positive thinking, topics suggested by my tiny but growing following. I wrote them on paper, and John typed them when he got home from work.
With my condition, it was a bad idea to sit near reflective surfaces for long periods of time, especially if I was trying to be creative. Windows weren't a problem if they had curtains over them, and our house had only two small mirrors, which I spent very little time in front of.
Next to me, the phone under its cheesecloth cover twittered with strange birds and the intermittent patter of rain. It was a nice sound in the too-quiet house.
I put my head back on the sofa and kicked my feet in their wooly slippers. Truth be told, I hated this blog. A friend had gotten me involved, and it filled the time while I looked for work, but I didn't care about blogging. Most days, I had nothing to say. What was important was avoiding fiction or things that might make me daydream. If I was bored to tears reading about gluten allergies, then I wasn't thinking about space flight or exotic landscapes.
I lived such a boring life.
Another bee approached my phone from inside whatever jungle it was connected to. The cheesecloth shifted as the bee bumped against it, then it flew somewhere else. I could hear it receding in the distance.
I had dreamed of somewhere with trees last night. The image of trees remained. Now, on my new phone, the thickly clustered leaves of trees moved back and forth.
I wanted to push the leaves aside to see what else was there, but thinking like that was only going to keep it there. I was supposed to be thinking about clean eating, not exotic jungles.
"I know you're there," someone said.
I froze. I looked around, but the room was empty. I hadn't heard the door open, but I called John's name.
"Not John," the voice said. "It's Alexander, or whatever you are calling me these days."
I left the room.
Hands shaking, I poured myself a cup of coffee in the kitchen, focusing hard on thoughts of preservatives and food additives.
There was no Alexander and never had been. All children have imaginary friends, or so I was told. Alexander was just persistent.
"I'm not going to hurt you!" Alexander said loudly, his voice echoing in the hallway from the living room around the corner.
I didn't come any closer, just tried to think of boring, dull things. If only I remembered more math. Quadratic equations might drive that voice away.
"I don't know this place. Did you move again?" Alexander asked. There was an odd sound, like he was wheezing. "It smells cold. It's summer here. You'd like it. Join me, just for a little while."
"I like it here," I said, then cursed myself for engaging him.
"You are killing me," he said. "This place is awful. Why are you thinking so hard about math?"
"I'm…" I started but couldn't finish. "Take your jungle and go away."
"Not when you invited me."
The sound of John moving around outside was a godsend. I darted into the entryway so I could greet him, taking myself further from my wretched gate.
After taking his bags and picking John's brain about everything he had done, he finally looked in the direction of the living room.
"It's him, isn't it?" he asked, and I nodded.
John scratched his head, looking down at his feet. He looked back up with a sheepish grin.
"Why don't you visit him?" he asked, his eyebrows crooked up in the middle.
"I don't even know where that gate leads!"
"It never hurt you before."
"I was a child then. I didn't know what I was doing."
I had walked through the gates as a child, at least until Mom figured out what I was using the mirror in my room for. I never went very far into these strange places, and Alexander was there to explain the place to me. Still, my friends' imaginary friends never took them out of their homes.
"Look," John said, "Whatever we've been doing isn't working. Maybe you should just… see what he wants."
I had wanted to be normal. I had picked the dullest degree I could imagine, business rather than art or literature. I had married the most sensible, staid man I ever dated. We didn't own pets, and living in another country meant that we could forego all of the holiday traveling. I blogged about boring topics and read computer repair magazines for fun.
This wasn't what I had seen myself doing as a child.
"Why are you always right?" I asked John.
I released his fingers, took a breath to strengthen my resolve, and walked into the living room.
I set the phone on the floor, pulled the cheesecloth away, and tried to step on the screen without thinking too hard about it. My foot sort of shrank and sank into the leaves.
I wobbled before lifting the other foot. It too vanished into the greenery. I closed my eyes.
The sun was red-gold through my eyelids. The air was hot and wet against my skin. I kicked off my slippers, letting my toes dig into the moist earth. The air smelled loamy, sweet with bruised flower petals.
I opened my eyes. Tall leafy trees blocked out the sky overhead, but ahead, the sun melted into a pool of red and orange clouds over the horizon. The land was bright with greenery, unlike the uniform white- and grayness of the English midlands in winter.
"It's been a while," Alexander said. He wore a suit, but he always looked out of place in my dreams.
"John thinks I should ask why you keep coming back," I said, my voice swallowed up by the immensity of the jungle around me. The sawing of insects and chirping of birds was deafening.
"But you know why," Alexander said with a shrug. He turned and began walking backwards, leading me toward the edge of the jungle ahead of us. "You're just in denial."
"What do you want?" I said, remaining in place. "I have to grow up, Alex. There's no future in this." I gestured at the world around us.
"There would be if you tried," Alexander said with a scowl. "You just don't have the resolve to make all of this and your writing come together."
I looked away, my eyes falling on a butterfly. I wondered what sort of people lived here, and if they knew what this butterfly was called.
"Until you embrace this," Alexander said, his arms spread wide, "it will keep breaking in."
He walked forward and pressed my phone into my hand. Now it looked like itself, all brightly colored icons.
"You have the gateway right here. Don't lose this one," he said softly. "Otherwise…"
He trailed off. A dry wind whipped up, obscuring the trees with dust. Grit blew into my eyes. The sun vanished, the sweet smells traded for dryness and a chalky taste in my mouth. The ground grew soft and insubstantial.
Alexander grew thin and wasted, and then I could see through him.
"Don't waste this gift" was the last thing I heard before everything went dark.
I opened my eyes to our living room. I was sitting with my jungle phone in my hand, a pen in the other.
Beside me, John was reading a book. He smiled tentatively when he looked up.
"How was your trip?" he asked.
I looked down at the empty notebook and its crossed-out topics for the blog.
"I'm going to write a story."
by Rohini Sunderam
The jungle has its own unique senses.
There is a sensation of the old. It is primordial and comforting while still able to set our senses on edge, turning them acute and more alive than they've ever been in the city or around technology.
The smell is fecund. Peaty and redolent with the odour of birth and rebirth and death.
Silence is the sound of the place. Not the dead muffled silence of a recording booth or an ENT clinic where they test your ability to detect decibels, but the sound of life as it moves between the nocturnal and diurnal, pulsating to the throb of a gigantic heart.
Textures abound. But we daren't touch anything because we are city creatures. We are afraid that the gnarled bark of a tree, the smooth sharp blade of grass or the velvet of an unknown leaf may hold hidden dangers, saps to which our soft, urban skins may be allergic, wary of resins that could burn and scar.
Ah but the sights! We can't get enough of those. Our eyes drink in the seemingly million shades of green. We revel in the bright yellows and blues of butterflies and birds, the shy white flowers and ferns of the undergrowth. I look fascinated at orchids in their purple splendour clinging wild and wonderful to a branch. The words bromeliad and epiphyte find their way to the top of my mind, bringing with them memories of my school botany class and the stern teacher staring over his black-rimmed spectacles.
The dappled back of a panther makes us stop in our tracks and whisper as we watch its sinewy black and gold shape glide down a pathway, sending the monkeys chattering up into their trees, its head tossing away flies. It's unusual for him to be strolling at this time of the day.
Just as it is unusual for us be to here.
It is exactly 11:11 on my smart phone face and the jungle, which appeared magically one day at this exact time, has, on cue, flashed onto the screen. Its tall grasses are once again beckoning us to leap into it.
We've made this trip into the portal twice before. The first time was a thrilling adventure. I touched it and it seemed real, even that typical jungle smell came out of it. I turned to my friend and showed it to him, "Check this out, this smart phone is something else."
"It can't be," he said, ever the sceptic.
"Just touch it!" I challenged him.
The minute he did that a tiny fly flew out of the screen and into the room.
He'd opened his eyes wide. "Shall we?"
And without quite knowing why, we both held hands and touched the screen together.
It made a sucking sound and the next thing we were inside the jungle. An instant safari. On foot. And dressed as if we'd planned it: in khaki shorts and long bush shirts, sandals and cotton stockings looking like Dr Livingston with backpacks complete with emergency supplies and water. And what's more we had a guide, an Indian in long khaki pants, t-shirt and a sola topi.
He looked at us and smiled, "Right on time sir, madam."
I checked my smart watch and that's when I noticed the magical: 11:11a.m.
We wandered around for exactly one hour and one minute and at 12:12pm we looked up, held hands together, stretched up to the sky and bang, we were back in my office cubicle.
He looked at me and said, "Were we…?"
"Sure felt like it". I answered and looked at the smart phone, which had gone back to its regular wallpaper colours of lavender and white.
"Felt like what?" he asked challenging me.
"Like we were in the jungle?" I asked him back.
"Weird," he replied, "Let's not tell anyone, they'll think we've been doing drugs or something."
A few days later he was at my desk again and we were discussing an ad concept and he asked me again, "Was that jungle thing for real or did we imagine it?"
"It felt very real."
And then I smelt it, the jungle, sending out its earthy perfume. I looked at the smart phone and sure enough 11:11am and the jungle was back on the screen.
"Let's get something to prove it this time," he said, "even if it's only as a confirmation."
So we went again. And as before the guide was there with his, "Right on time sir, madam." But his smile seemed a bit different this time.
No cause for concern, because at 12:12pm we returned again as before. Only this time I'd surreptitiously picked a tiny flower, from its roots.
When we returned I put it into soil and watered it. It had taken root and had grown quite large in just two days.
"We won't do it again," my friend advised. "I felt uneasy about the guide this time."
"So did I." I confessed.
And yet three days later, 11:11 a.m. I was alone. And the jungle was calling me in to the phone.
'How dangerous could it be, to go alone?' I asked myself. 'All I need to do is stretch up at 12:12pm and I'll be back.'
So taking a deep breath, I held my hands together and with my index finger I touched the screen.
The loud sucking sound pulled me in.
And everything was exactly as before: the safari gear, the guide, with his, "Right on time madam." Only this time he chuckled. I was not sure if it was my imagination but his laugh made the hair on my neck stand on end.
Instinct is as primeval as the jungle. And as a sense it should be obeyed.
The trouble with those of us who are and have been urban and civilised for so many millennia is, that we treat instinct as though it were a myth. Not real. To be mistrusted. And what's worse, ignored.
After that initial laugh from the 'guide' and that uneasy sensation I allowed myself to be lost in the tour.
This time we went to a marshy sanctuary with a pool in the centre. It was loud with the buzzing of mosquitoes and dragonflies, bees and hornets. And birds of so many hues I couldn't believe my eyes. There were waders watching the marshy pool intent on catching their prey. Other birds had their heads tucked under their wings asleep. Some flew from one branch to another chattering with their relatives and friends. Rarely speaking to another species.
The air of predatory earnestness in all the creatures gave the scene a sinister sense of foreboding.
"I'd like to see something else," I said to the guide.
"Come," he said. I still hadn't asked his name, and somehow felt it wasn't up to me to do so.
The guide then took me up into a tree house from where I could watch the lemurs.
"I will be back madam," he said, "Just a small job to do."
I was camouflaged in the leaves and the heat made me drowsy. I must have dropped off for, well more than a few minutes, because when I awoke it was way past 12:12pm, in fact it was one o'clock.
The guide was nowhere to be seen.
I started to worry, but then I thought perhaps this isn't time related and I clasped my hands together and pointed upwards. Nothing happened. I was still in the tree house.
'Okay,' I said to myself, 'maybe it is time-related'. At 1:01pm I aimed my hands upwards.
No. I'm still in the tree house.
Okay, I think. Let's try 13:13 on the 24-hour clock.
The guide hasn't returned.
I look up and can see my office friend peering down at me from the sky.
I wave at him.
He can't see me.
"Hellllp!" I shout.
He can't hear me.
It's one thirty now. My friend has gone from the sky. The guide isn't back.
I've tried getting out at 2:02pm, 14:14, 3:03pm, 15:15…
"Helllpppp!" I cry weeping, frantic. "Helllppp!"
They can't hear me on the other side. They can't feel me on my smart phone screen. They can't see me.
"Oh dear God!" I cry as tears of panic threaten to choke me, "I want to go home…please, somebody, anybody, bring me back."
With an excruciating effort of will I control the panic, "I have to be patient. I have to try again."
When it comes to our smart phones and technology so many senses are stimulated to such a degree that in the end they are deadened.
It is now 5:05pm and I haven't been able to return.
I'll try again at 17:17.
I hope I have enough water in my backpack to last until 12:12pm tomorrow…
by Noor Nass
The story is being worked on, in the light of Alex Shaw's comments. And when she's ready, we'll post Noor's story here.


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- Written by webmin
* The lads at Hooniverse recently found a Model T-based snowmobile, but one that's quite a bit different than the conversions we're familiar with. Apparently, it's a homebuilt job using Bombardier snowmobile parts.
* Ol' Man Foster, the CrosleyKook, recently posted a touching story about taking his 1949 Crosley convertible off the road. The need for downtime for the Cros is understandable after Foster used it as a daily driver for many years.
UPDATE (13.July 2010): Though it's a few years old, this video that Tim's wife put together regarding Tim's Crosley habit is rather sweet.
* Gary Grant of the Garage Blog recently visited the Guild of Automotive Restorers up north of Toronto and came away with some pics and information of the unusual vehicles on display there, including the infamous Supervan.
* Etienne Musslin likes 2CVs. Etienne Musslin is an excellent photographer. Thus, a great photoblog is added to my RSS reader. (via)
* We like Jeff Teague's work, and now Jeff informs us that he's teamed up with Mark Jordan – Chuck Jordan's son – to form a new design studio called JTDNA. We expect great things from the pair.


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AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Tom DeLay took part in a scheme to illegally channel corporate money into Texas legislative races in order to strengthen his power and influence, prosecutors said Monday in opening statements of the former U.S. House majority leader's money laundering trial.
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Tom DeLay took part in a scheme to illegally channel corporate money into Texas legislative races in order to strengthen his power and influence, prosecutors said Monday in opening statements of the former U.S. House majority leader's money laundering trial.
DeLay's attorneys countered that no corporate money was given to Texas candidates and that the only thing the once powerful but polarizing ex-lawmaker is guilty of is being a good politician.
Travis County prosecutor Beverly Mathews said DeLay and two associates — Jim Ellis and John Colyandro — illegally funneled $190,000 in corporate money, which had been collected by a group DeLay started, through the Washington-based Republican National Committee to help elect GOP state legislative candidates in 2002. Under Texas law, corporate money cannot be directly used for political campaigns.
"The evidence will show you they took the corporate money they knew could not be given and came up with a scheme where that dirty money could be turned clean and given to candidates," Mathews said.
DeLay, who has long denied any wrongdoing, is charged with money laundering and conspiracy to commit money laundering. If convicted, he could face up to life in prison.
Mathews told jurors the $190,000 that was collected by DeLay's Texas political action committee was exchanged for the same amount through the Republican National Committee and ultimately given to seven Texas candidates. She said the money swap was supervised and facilitated by DeLay.
Mathews said the Republicans won a majority in the Texas House as a result of DeLay's scheme, meaning they could then push through a congressional redistricting plan engineered by DeLay that would send more Texas Republicans to Congress. Republicans won a majority in the Texas House in 2002 and congressional redistricting sent more Texas Republican to Congress in 2004.
"There is nothing wrong with Republicans trying to dominate the political world," Mathews said. "But the means to achieve that gain must be lawful."
During his opening statement, DeLay's lead attorney repeatedly told jurors that no corporate money was ever given to Texas candidates.
Dick DeGuerin acknowledged DeLay's political action committee sent $190,000 in corporate money to an arm of the Republican National Committee and that the national committee used money collected from individual donations to send $190,000 to seven Texas GOP candidates.
"It's not the same money. No money was laundered," DeGuerin said. As DeGuerin spoke to jurors, a television screen next to him displayed the words: "No corporate money went to candidates in Texas."
DeGuerin said DeLay, who didn't make decisions for his political action committee, lawfully raised money and promoted the interests of the GOP.
"He did it so successfully that there was a lot of anger. You cannot convict Tom DeLay because he was a better politician than the other side was. That's not a crime," DeGuerin said.
Before opening statements, DeLay was upbeat as he entered the Austin courtroom.
"The prosecution doesn't have a case. How can I not feel confident," said DeLay, standing next to his wife, Christine.
The first witness in the case was Craig McDonald, the director of Texans for Public Justice, a liberal watchdog group that first asked prosecutors to investigate DeLay's political action committee.
DeLay has been pressing for a trial since he was indicted five years ago, but the case was slowed by appeals of pretrial rulings, including his attorneys' attempt to move the trial out of Austin — the most Democratic city in one of the most Republican states.
DeLay and DeGuerin have said the charges are politically motivated by former Travis County District Attorney Ronnie Earle, who brought the original case but has since retired. Earle is a Democrat. Prosecutors deny the charges are politically motivated.
DeLay's defense team also worried about the trial being held in liberal Austin and its timing, with testimony beginning a day before the contentious midterm elections. Jurors were selected last week, and the trial is expected to last three weeks.
DeLay was once one of the most powerful Republicans in Congress, earning the nickname "the Hammer" for his heavy-handed style.
The criminal charges in Texas, as well as a separate federal investigation of his ties to disgraced former lobbyist Jack Abramoff, forced DeLay to step down as majority leader and eventually to resign after representing suburban Houston for 22 years. The Justice Department has since ended its federal investigation into DeLay's ties to Abramoff without filing any charges against DeLay.
Ellis and Colyandro, who face lesser charges, will be tried later. A previous charge alleging they and DeLay had engaged in a conspiracy to violate campaign finance laws was dismissed.
DeLay has been mostly out of public view since resigning from Congress, except for an appearance on ABC's hit television show "Dancing With the Stars." He now runs a consulting firm based in the Houston suburb of Sugar Land.


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Lesson 19
The Anti-Nephi-Lehi's Covenant
• Print the story visuals and cut each page in half, except for the last page. Number the back of the scripture story pages to help keep them in order. (Note: The scripture story visual aids are from chapter twenty-six of Book of Mormon Stories, and the picture of the dog is from Microsoft word clipart.)
• Print and cut out the commandment/situation word strips. Fold the strips and put them into a small container.
• Items needed: chalk and eraser, a shallow dish such as a cake pan, two disposable plastic or styrofoam cups (fill one cup with water and put it in the freezer), a small Tupperware container of water, tongs, one plastic spoon per child, enough ice cubes to half fill a gallon sized Ziploc bag, a small ice chest, 1/3 cup of rock salt, a gallon sized Ziploc bag, and a sandwich sized Ziploc bag filled with the following ice-cream ingredients: 1 cup half-and-half, 2 tablespoons sugar, ½ teaspoon vanilla. (Squeeze the air out of the bag before sealing it.) Put the ice cubes, frozen water, and ice cream ingredients into the ice chest to keep them cold.
Attention Story
There were once two girls who promised their mother they would wash the family dog. Their mother promised that if they would do that chore she would take them swimming. (Show the picture of the dog.) Washing the dog was a harder task than either of the children expected. It was a messy, dirty job, and the dog did not want to be washed. The dog would squirm away as they were trying to wash it, and then it would roll in the dirt and get dirty again. In frustration, one of the children stopped working and would not help anymore. The other child continued to try and finish the task. She eventually figured out a way to keep the dog contained so it could not get away. She was able to finish washing and drying the dog even though it was a difficult job.
• When the task of washing the dog got difficult how did each child respond? One child gave up and did not finish the task, and the other kept her promise and finished the task.
Pour water into the empty plastic cup, and put the cup in the shallow dish. Explain to the children that the cup of water represents someone who is not firm in keeping their promises. When pressure or difficulty arises, their resolve to keep their commitment breaks. (Demonstrate this by applying pressure to the container with your hand. The container will crush and water will spill out.)
Show the children the cup of ice. Tell them it represents someone who is firm in keeping their commitments regardless of difficulty or pressure. Squeeze the cup. It should be firm and unyielding.
• Remind the children that promises should not be made lightly. What happens if we don't keep our word and are not dependable? We may lose the trust of others. The girl who did not help wash the dog was not trusted to complete certain future tasks without supervision, but the girl who kept her promise was allowed more freedom and trust.
If we do not keep our promises we also do not get the promised benefits agreed upon in two-way promises. The girl that didn't help wash the dog was not able to go swimming that day.
A two-way promise between two people is when both people promise something. When one person breaks their side of the promise the other person is not responsible to fulfill their side of the agreement.
• What is a two-way promise called that is made between us and Heavenly Father? A covenant.
We make covenants with Heavenly Father when we are baptized. If we keep our covenants we can gain the promised rewards, including the greatest reward of all, the gift of eternal life. Those who are given eternal life have great freedom and power. Only those who can be trusted to do the right thing are given that freedom and power.
In today's lesson we learn about a group of people who were firm in keeping their covenants even in the face of great difficulty and adversity.
Scripture Story
Teach the following scripture story using pictures from chapter twenty-six of Book of Mormon Stories as visual aids.
Because of the efforts of the sons of Mosiah many Lamanites had been converted to the gospel. The king of the Lamanites and all those who were converted had changed their natures. They were a new people and did not want to be called Lamanites anymore. They wanted to be called by a new name. The king consulted with Aaron and many of their priests, and they chose a new name to call themselves.
They decided to be called Anti-Nephi-Lehies. (Write the name on the board.) Tell the children that the word "anti" does not have the modern day meaning of being opposed to something. In some languages the word "anti" has a meaning similar to the word "imitation." The people who had been converted desired to become like Lehi and Nephi. They chose a name to reflect that righteous desire.
The Lamanites who had not been converted were very angry at all those who were converted to the teachings of the Nephites. They began to rebel against the king. They took up arms to destroy the king and the Anti-Nephi-Lehies. The king died in the same year that the Lamanites began to make preparations for war against the people of God. Before he died he conferred the kingdom upon one of his sons.
• Why did the unconverted Lamanites want to destroy the Anti-Nephi-Lehies? It was a Lamanite tradition to believe that the Nephite way was wrong. The unconverted Lamanites may have felt anger towards the Ant-Nephi-Lehies for following the Nephite way. Another reason may have been that the changes in those who had become converted made the other Lamanites feel anger at the reminders of the evil things they were doing. They may have wanted to destroy that goodness and not feel the guilt.
When Ammon and his brethren saw the preparations of the Lamanites to destroy the Anti- Nephi-Lehies, they came to the land of Ishmael to talk to the new Lamanite king and to Lamoni, his brother, concerning what the Anti-Nephi-Lehies should do to defend themselves against the Lamanites.
The king, and none of the people who had been converted to the Lord, would take up arms to fight against their brethren the Lamanites. They would not even make preparations for war. They had repented of the murders they had committed in unrighteous wars. They were afraid that if they took up arms to fight and kill again, they would again be stained with sin, and they might not be forgiven this time. They decided to bury their weapons deep in the earth as a covenant to God that they would not kill again.
• Have the children look at the pictures of the Anti-Nephi-Lehies collecting and burying their weapons, and ask the children what kinds of weapons the picture suggests were buried. Have them look closely at the picture to identify the different types of weapons.
• What could happen to the Anti-Nephi-Lehies if they didn't have weapons to defend themselves against attack? They could die.
• Why did the Anti-Nephi-Lehies value their covenants more than their lives? They were overwhelmingly grateful to the Lord for forgiving them of their sins. They understood the eternal value of what they had gained and did not want to lose it.
• When someone makes a covenant or promise, an action is usually performed as a token or sign of the covenant such as shaking hands, signing a document, etc. What was the token or sign of the Anti-Nephi-Lehi's covenant to never kill again? Burial of their weapons
• When you made your first covenants with Heavenly Father at age eight what action did you perform as a sign of your commitment? Baptism
When the Lamanites came into the land to destroy the king and his people, the Anti-Nephi-Lehies went out to meet them. The Anti-Nephi-Lehies prostrated themselves on the earth, which meant they bowed themselves very low, or they laid on the ground with their faces down. They then began to call on the name of the Lord praising him. They were in this attitude when the Lamanites began to fall upon them and slay them with the sword. Without meeting any resistance the Lamanites killed 1,005 of the Anti-Nephi-Lehies.
• Why were the Anti-Nephi-Lehies praising God and not afraid to die? (See Alma 27:28) They were grateful for and had faith in Jesus Christ. They knew that because of Jesus Christ they could be resurrected.
When the Lamanites saw that their brethren would not flee from the sword, but they would lie down and perish as they were praising God, they stopped slaying them. Many of the Lamanites felt sorrow and remorse for killing their brethren the Anti-Nephi-Lehies. They threw down their weapons of war, and they would not take them up again. They repented and joined with the people of God. The amount of people that joined the people of God was more than the number who had been slain.
Those Lamanites who did not join the Anti-Nephi-Lehies became even angrier because they had slain their brethren. They put the blame on the Nephites and swore vengeance upon them. The Lamanites took their armies and went to the Nephite lands.
The Lamanites had many battles with the Nephites. When the Lamanites saw that could not overpower the Nephites, they returned again to their own land. After suffering much loss and affliction, many of them joined the Anti-Nephi-Lehies because they began to believe in the Lord. They believed that he gave great power to the Nephites.
But a hard hearted group of people that lived among the Lamanites began to stir up the other Lamanites again in anger against the Anti-Nephi-Lehies. These hard hearted people were apostate Nephites. The Anti-Nephi-Lehies again refused to take up arms, and they once again suffered themselves to be slain.
• Apostates are people who have turned away from the truth. Why are apostates often hard hearted? (Read Alma 24:30)
When Ammon and his brethren saw the work of destruction among those whom they loved, they asked the king to gather the people and flee to the Nephites. The king was afraid the Nephites would destroy them because of the many murders and sins they had committed against them. Ammon told the king he would ask the Lord what they should do. The king said that if the Lord gave direction that they should go, then they would go. Ammon went and inquired of the Lord. The Lord told him to get the people out of the land because Satan had a great hold on the hearts of the Amalekites (the apostate Nephites).
So the Anti-Nephi-Lehies gathered their possessions and went to the borders of the Nephite land. Ammon and his brothers went to Zarahemla to talk to the Nephites. They talked to the chief judge and told him all the things that had happened. The chief judge sent a proclamation throughout all the land desiring the voice of the people concerning admitting the Anti-Nephi-Lehies. The Nephite people said they would give the land of Jershon to the Anti-Nephi-Lehies. They also said they would set their armies between the land of Jershon and the Lamanites to protect them so the Anti-Nephi-Lehies would not have to take up arms against their brethren the Lamanites. The Anti-Nephi-Lehies would merely have to provide food and substance for the army. When Ammon returned and told them the news, they were filled with joy.
• Why were the Nephites willing to help the Anti-Nephi-Lehies? Because of the preaching of Alma, the Nephite people had become righteous. They were trying to do what the Lord would have them do.
The Anti-Nephi-Lehies took possession of the land of Jershon and became known as the people of Ammon. They were distinguished for their zeal towards God, and they were perfectly honest and upright in their treatment towards others.
Remind the children that the Anti-Nephi-Lehies stayed firm in keeping their covenants. Show the children the cup of ice again, and explain that just as we would have to put water in a freezer to keep it firm, we also need to do certain things in order to stay firm in keeping our covenants. The Anti-Nephi-Lehies kept firm in keeping their covenants by deciding ahead of time what they would do if they were attacked, and they also figured out a solution to their difficult situation. In order to stay firm in keeping our covenants we need to decide ahead of time how we will react to temptation, and we need to figure out solutions to our challenging problems and situations.
Show the children the small sealed Ziploc bag filled with the liquid ingredients. Explain to the children that the bag represents keeping covenants, and its contents represent the covenants. Put the small bag into the big Ziploc bag.
Remind the children that when they made covenants at baptism, one of the covenants they promised to keep was to obey the commandments. Have a child choose a commandment/situation from the container and read it out loud. Ask the children how they could respond to that situation so they can keep firm in keeping their covenants.
For every answer the children give, have them use the tongs and get a piece of ice from the ice chest and put it into the large Ziploc bag. Explain that the ice represents staying firm in keeping our covenants by finding solutions and preparing ahead. Ideas for possible solutions to each of the situations could include:
Keep the Sabbath Day Holy – Take a gift over and do something fun with that friend on another day.
Be Honest – Explain to the neighbor and your parents what happened, and offer to do work to pay for the damage.
Do Not Cheat – Offer to teach them how to do the problems you understood, and then ask for their help figuring out how to do the problems you didn't understand.
Obey Your Parents – Put some music on and make a game out of the cleaning, or divide the room into sections so it isn't so overwhelming.
Dress Modestly- Put a shirt with sleeves under the immodest shirt, or wear a shrug over the shirt.
Tithing – Ask your mom if there is a job you can do for her to earn some money.
Do Not Use Profanity – Ask your friends to not use profanity around you, or find new friends who don't use profanity,
Pray – Get up a little bit earlier to make time to pray.
Read the Scriptures – Use a study guide to help you understand the scriptures.
Be Kind to Others – Include the child and place him in a position that isn't too difficult, and practice with the child later to help him become better.
Be Chaste – Ask your parents to help put controls on the computer so those kinds of sites can't be accessed, or make it a goal to use the computer only when others are around.
Keep the Word of Wisdom – Explain to your friend that you don't drink alcohol or take drugs because it can be dangerous and harmful to your body, and then suggest something fun they can do instead.
After each commandment situation has been discussed, or when the bag is half full of ice, pour the rock salt onto the ice and seal the bag. Shake or squeeze the bag for a minute, and explain that the action represents problems and temptations that are thrown at them. Give each of the children a turn shaking the bag.
After about five minutes of shaking the bag, check the ice cream. It should be the consistency of frozen yogurt. Give each child one large plastic spoonful of ice cream.
- Ask the children what happened to the liquid because they added ice to the bag. (It became a delicious frozen treat.)
- Ask what the wonderful results would be of staying firm in keeping our covenants. We could gain eternal life, which is the greatest of all God's gifts.
Weekly Reading Assignment
Remind the children to do their scripture reading assignment for this week: Alma 23:16-17, Alma 24:1-30, Alma 25:1-6, Alma 25:13-14, and Alma 27:1-30


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A Brief Review of Certain Anomalous Accounts of the Recent Past--And What Stinks About Them
by Chris Parker, Copyright 2008 by s8int.com
Living, Giant, Angry, Prehistoric Monster Seen by Scientific Expedition in New Guinea.
Approximately 100 years ago, "one of the most remarkable scientific discoveries ever made" was reported from the "wilds" of New Guinea. Setting aside the hyperbole, a "prehistoric monster" much larger than an elephant had been discovered and encountered not by common folks like me and you, but by "scientists". Well, British scientists, just for the sake of full disclosure.
New Guinea is and was a huge Island north of Australia, the home itself of some fairly unusual fauna. In addition, the scientists had come across a "marvelous race of pigmies" who averaged just over four feet in height.
The huge mammal was at that time in the process of decimating that tribe of pigmies "discovered" by British scientists.
According to the article in the Stevens Point, Wisconsin, Gazette, published August 31, 1910: "The expedition was sent out by a committee appointed by the British Ornithologist's union to explore the great Snow mountains in Dutch New Guinea, and consists of several famous scientists, headed by Walter Goodfellow, the naturalist."
Returning to the pigmies for a moment, what is interesting about them is that in the same Islands, but in a different location were the "typical Paupuans", who averaged just over seven feet in height. Clearly, the two populations had become separated genetically, one group destined to excel as jockeys and the others in the NBA.
The Story"According to the official reports, the Gazeka is of gigantic size and fearsome aspect. It is black and white striped, has the nose of a tapir and "a face like the devil."
Among the English inhabitants of the island, the animal is known as Monckton's Gazeka, in honor of Mr. C. A. W. Monckton, a former explorer In New Guinea, who first reported its presence in the mountains.
Mr. Monckton, during his ascent of Mount Albert Edward, in the west of British New Guinea, discovered the huge footprints and other indications of the very recent presence of some tremendous monster that had evidently been prowling on the grassy plains surrounding the lakes on the summit at an elevation of about 12,500 feet.
He followed the trail all day, and came upon the monster at dusk, just as it was devastating a settlement of the pigmies.
The little natives were screaming and running for their lives, although they turned every now and again to aim their poisoned arrows at the brute.
Monckton let fire as soon as he was able to get in a proper position, and the huge Gazeka at once turned upon him. As it reared upon its hind legs and pawed the air it looked to the hunter as big as a house, standing fully 25 feet high.
Two of Monckton's bullets seemed to take effect, as a stream of blood flowed freely from the animal's shoulder, but before Monckton was able to reload the animal turned and fled. By that time it was too dark to follow him, and Monckton never had another opportunity to renew his pursuit.
None of the inhabitants was brave enough to repeat Monckton's attempt to capture the brute and until the British expedition reached New Guinea he has prowled around with impunity, occasionally descending upon the rudimentary huts of the pigmies and destroying those who failed to fly in time.
The British explorers were aware of Monckton's experience, and in fact, it is believed that one of the principal objects of the expedition was to secure a specimen of the strange monster".
What Stinks About This Story?
Number one, that you probably never heard of it. Scientists discover and view a gigantic, unknown "prehistoric", "dinosaur", supposedly extinct millions of years ago, along with physical evidence of its existence in the form of gigantic footprints and yet the story is not commonly known.
If in fact the story was better known, it should have had the impact of forcing science to be a little more circumspect before immediately identifying every supposed eyewitness sighting of a "monster" as a decayed basking shark or a figment of someone's imagination.
At the very least, the skeptics might be good enough to wait until some of the evidence is in.
The second thing that stinks about this story is the proximity of the pigmies of this story and other pigmy encounters in New Guinea to the area where the bones of the "Hobbit" were discovered.
If the average height of these pigmies was just over four feet, then obviously, some of them were below four feet tall and some of them were undoubtedly, well below average (some above the average as well). No one suggested at that time that they might be "Hobbits", (Homo floresienses) a completely separate human species. The lastest salvo in that paradigm against paradigm war was fired here.
The Zuiyo-Maru "Plesiosaurus"
"On April 25, 1977, the Japanese fishing vessel Zuiyo-Maru - while trawling in waters about 30 miles east of Christchurch, New Zealand - caught in its nets the 4,000 pound carcass of an unknown animal.
While dragging for mackerel at depth of approximately 1,000 feet, the crew of the Zuiyo-Maru (and for a short time the executives of the Taiyo Fishery Company) suddenly found themselves the unwitting owners of the most astounding cryptozoological find of the 20th century.
The massive creature was brought aboard ship and then hoisted above the deck. At first the badly decayed corpse was thought to be that of a whale or possibly a giant turtle who's shell had been removed, but quickly talk on the Zuiyo-Maru soon began to turn back the oceanic clock toward the Cretaceous period, when those on deck began to talk in hushed, but excited voices about the carcass being that of the long - at least presumed to be - extinct plesiosaur.
In spite of the obvious scientific significance of the find, the captain and crew unanimously agreed that the fetid corpse had to be thrown overboard in order to avoid spoiling the rest of the catch.
Luck was on the side of science however, for as the oily, film-covered carcass was being hoisted up - in preparation for its disposal - the creature suddenly slipped through its bindings and fell onto the deck.
This fortunate turn of events gave 39 year-old Michihiko Yano - a graduate of the Yamaguchi Oenological high school - the opportunity to examine the creature even more closely.
After a preliminary examination, Yano was still unable to identify the animal, but he believed that the corpse was unique enough to warrant a detailed description, and he also knew that he was the only man for the job.
At that point Yano - realizing that his time was short - began to take a painstaking series of measurements, concluding that the total length of the carcass came in at an impressive 33-feet.
Yano then ingratiated himself into the hearts of fortean researchers worldwide when he borrowed a shipmate's camera and snapped five of the most famous photographs in cryptozoological history.
As if to further prove that he could cut the mustard as a scientist, Yano proceeded to remove 42 pieces of what he referred to as "horny fiber" from one of the anterior fins, in the hopes that these specimens would assist marine biologists in future identification efforts.
Finally, after just an hour of intense study, the Zuiyo-Maru carcass was thrown over the bow"....American Monsters
"On July 28, 1977, the Zuiyo Maru carcass was commented upon in the international science magazine New Scientist. A scientist from the British Natural History Museum in London had the same opinion as Bjerring and Persson: that the remains were not from a plesiosaur.
The decomposition pattern of a basking shark, whose spine and braincase is relatively highly ossified for a cartilaginous fish, can be expected to produce a similar shape to a plesiosaur; the first parts that fall off during decomposition are the lower jaw, the gill area, and the dorsal and caudal fins.
Bengt Sjögren (1980) concluded, "it was the infamous old ´Stronsay beast´ that once again haunted like on innumerable other occasions. The scholars in Japan went into the same easy trap as the Scot naturalists did in the 19th century."
However, some Japanese scientists criticised the shark hypothesis. Professor Yoshinori Imaizumi of the National Science Museum of Japan said, "It's not a fish, whale, or any other mammal." and professor Toshio Kasuya agreed, "If it was a shark, the spine would be smaller, and the neck itself is too long as shown in the picture. I think we can exclude the fish theory."
The above mentioned Fujiro Yasuda ruled out a mammalian origin and claimed: "No animal of that size has such an elongated body" (Welfare & Fairley, 1981). He concluded that the stretching of the body and positions of fins were totally different from that of any known shark, and added: "We can't find any known species of fish that correspond with the animal caught outside New Zealand.
If it is a shark, it is a species unknown to science." Two other Japanese scientists, Obata and Tomata from Tokyo National Museum of Science also agreed that no known species or genus of animal fit the appearance of the Zuiyo Maru creature.
Also, when the carcass samples were tested for amino acid levels, variances occurred from the levels expected in a basking shark. However, this could be explained by the fact that the carcass had been decomposing in and leached by seawater for some time."… Wikipedia
What Stinks About This Story?
Number one, the carcass. Number two, even creationists have stopped suggesting that this creature was anything but a larger than normal basking shark because the paradigm has prevailed.
One thing we do know is that most scientists appear to have a bias against the discovery any prehistoric creature in our time, so their skepticism has to be put in context. Also, of course we should mention that indeed it could have been a shark.
However, there were variations in the amino acid report which though suggestive is certainly not conclusive. We are also struck with the fact that the crewman; Yano, (who measured and prodded and photographed the creature and who had some relevant training) and many Japanese scientists who studied the creature were convinced that it was not a fish/shark and that it was something completely unknown.
One would certainly believe that a crew of experienced fisherman and a man with oceanographic training could have recognized a decaying shark for what it was—if that is what it was.
An article in the New Mexican, August 1, 1977, acknowledges that the crew insists that what had been pulled up from a depth of 1,000 feet was a "prehistoric monster".
"It was no shark and it wasn't a whale either," Akira Tmiaka, captain of the 2,355-ton fishing boat Zuiyo Maru, said Sunday. "It was a monster," he said. "It had four large legs or flippers on its body. I saw them clearly from the ship's bridge."
Also, according to the New Mexican;
"Professor Tokio Shikama, an authority on prehistoric plants and animals at Yokohama National University, identified the creature as a plesiosuurus, a species of sea animal formerly believed to have become extinct 140 million to 150 million years ago."
"I poked it and my fingers went in, (the flesh had become so loose," said deck hand Masahiro Kawano. '"We know all about fish fat and flesh.
Nobody would have mistaken that for fish meat."
Well, somebody would.
The Lady of the Woods: When Good People Turn to Stone
The following excerpt from a story about petrified giants appeared in the October 28, 1923 edition of The Ogden Standard-Examiner:
"The other discovery in Oregon also serves to substantiate the Arizona theory that a great race of giants once populated the Pacific Coast.-and-also tends to disprove scientific beliefs that human body will not petrify.
This discovery is that of the body of a giant woman, apparently hewn from stone but which persons who have viewed it declare is a petrified human. The stone giantess was discovered less than three months ago in the almost impenetrable recesses of the Klamath Forest Reserve by a corps of hydroelectric engineers."
The 1923 article goes on to say that the figure of the woman is embedded in the rock; that she appeared to be either kneeling or praying with one arm covering her face.
"The clearness of outline and vividness of pose indicate the master art of a Rodin (19th century French sculpture, i.e "the thinker") Those who examined the figure declare it gives evidences of having been exposed to the elements for centuries."
Keep that quote about Rodin in mind, we'll come back to it. One of the themes of this 1923 article was human petrification. Scientists insisted then if not now that such a thing is impossible.
The, problem with human petrification is that the process itself is supposed to take million s of years and science simply can't accept the notion of humans being turned into "billion year old " granite, for instance, let alone giant humans.
This particular artifact was normalized however in the following way and with the following story:
"The story of the "Lady of the Woods" has now been told many times -- too often to be repeated here in much detail. The interested reader is encouraged to look further into the various accounts relating to this fascinating episode of local history.
All of those mentioned here may be found in the library at Crater Lake National Park, home of the "Lady of the Woods."
Dr. Earl Russell Bush, official surgeon for the U. S. Engineers in 1917, was stationed in Crater Lake National Park during the summer of that year. The pressure of his duties had lessened considerably toward the end of the season.
Seeking some manner in which he could occupy his free moments productively and, at the same time, express the feelings of love and inspiration which the lake and surrounding country had aroused in him, the concept of a sculptured figure occurred to him.
Such a figure would be a symbol of the park's wilderness and little-noticed richness of life -- its fecundity, as Dr. Bush has so frequently expressed it.
After wandering through the forest and finding at some distance from the main camp a rock that suited his desires, Dr. Bush persuaded the blacksmith, William Ivy, to make an appropriate set of tools. The work began on October 4. Progress was slow, especially because of the hardness of the rock.
Fortunately, with his background as a doctor, he was not discouraged by the lack of a model.
Unfortunately, winter and its hazards are here very much at hand this late in the year; little time remained for carrying out this project. Then came the day of departure, October 19, the figure still lying incomplete against the surface of the boulder.
Dr. Bush had continued his carving for about a week without notice by other members of the staff. Feeling a sense of slight embarrassment about this undertaking, he had mentioned to no one the purpose of his visits into the woods.
However, curiosity and the persistent tapping of hammer and chisel eventually led a few to seek out the site of this activity. Although he was reassured by the praises which came forth upon their viewing the results of his efforts, Dr. Bush pledged them to secrecy.
Mr. Alex Sparrow, Superintendent, was alone granted permission to let Mr. William G. Steel, U. S. Commissioner, know about it the following summer. Thus, in 1918, Mr. Sparrow covered the stone chips with pine needles and took Mr. Steel to see it, pretending that he had discovered some Indian carvings which Mr. Steel didn't know about.
"The old gentleman, an authority on the Klamath tribe, was not to be fooled.
Said he, 'In the first place it isn't an Indian woman for she has too long legs; in the second, the concept is not Indian but rather classical.' Told the truth he joined the others in secrecy but wrote to me for details." (Bush, 1953).
This secret was well guarded by all who shared it. Mr. Steel was U. S. Commissioner for the park until 1934, and Mr. Sparrow was Superintendent until 1923, but it was not by either of them that the secret was finally revealed.
The discoveries of the "Lady of the Woods" which were made during the following years provided several remarkable speculations as to how the figure had been created and, for those who did recognize it as a work of man, some extraordinary tales in respect to the motivation of the sculptor……Crater Lake..
What Stinks About This Story?
Number one, the 1923 newspaper story refers to the woman as a giantess and although the description of her pose seems to match --and part of the Klamath Forest is in Crater Lake Park, the statue falls short of being that of a giant. Maybe the real petrified lady was Dr. Bush's model?
Number two, the explanatory story itself is incredible. Some guy lets everyone know that he was the sculptor several years after it had been discovered and become a sensation? He snook away several years before it was "discovered", went to some obscure part of the wilderness for some barely articulated "poetic" reasons and chiseled out this sculpture, in what two weeks?
Not only that, he did this his very first sculpture in granite, without a model and after his work on it, never sculpted again? There is no way that this guy sculpted those rounded arms out of granite on his first try at sculpture. Remember that first sculpture of a horse that you did that everyone thought was a ladybug?-- And you were working with clay! Again, fellow art critics, the 1923 news article compares that petrified woman/statue to a Rodin. As an expert on the topic says:
"Granite is harder than limestone. That said, some limestones are virtually as hard as granite, and both stones can be extremely difficult for inexperienced carvers. Carving stone is hard to do--period!!!
If it's your first time carving stone, try a very soft, forgiving material such as soapstone. If you've never carved any material at all, you might consider starting in wood--the reductive process and tools are roughly similar, and you might find you'd get a better feel for the process and then move on to a harder material."..Rocco L.
Cold Weather Dinosaurs in Alaska and Siberia in the Recent Past
The distance across the Bering Strait from Siberia to Alaska's Seward Peninsula is approximately 55 miles. From at least 1923 to 1956, a series of sightings of huge creatures, all believed to be dinosaurs were sighted, living or dead in those cold, fairly proximate locations.
In 1923, a team of adventurers and a "priest" ministering to the local natives in that area of the Arctic, hunted and eventually encountered a giant dinosaur, a Ceratosaurus, or so it was claimed, with a 700 pound moose in his mouth and a bad attitude. That story was covered in these pages previously Here.
"The prehistoric thing, larger and bulkier than four elephants, lurched down the ravine, sweeping rocks and boulders aside like pebbles, it's head, high above the ground, bore in those awful Jaws a 700-pound moose".... …Hamilton Evening Journal, July 14, 1923.
That sighting remains unexplained.
Seven years later, the first of several Alaskan "dinosaurs" appeared and as a gift perhaps to the skeptical among men, had the good grace to be dead. It's a lot easier to identify something as a basking shark or a dead whale if its not up and moving around with a 700 pound moose in its mouth. Of course, they really could have all been dead basking sharks and killer whales.
In the Oakland Tribune, of November 25, 1930, the following headline appeared:
"Giant Prehistoric Lizard Found in Alaskan Glacier"
"Confirmed reports were received here from Valdez that the body of a giant amphibian lizardlike creature with fur, in perfect condition, has been found on Glacier Island near there.
The strange creature, reported to be 42 feet long, including a tail which measures 18 feet, was believed to be preserved since prehistoric times by being encased in ice in the upper reaches of the Columbia Glacier".
Sixteen years after that "lizardlike" prehistoric appearing creature was discovered, another one was found-in Alaska.
The Traverse City Record-Eagle had the following familiar headline on October 25, 1946:
Prehistoric Monster Found in Alaska
"ANCHOR POINT, ALASKA, Oct. |2d— (UP)— Anthropologists from the University of Alaska at Fairbanks were enroute here today to examine the body of a huge, lizard-like creature identified tentatively as a prehistoric tyrannosaurus or gorgonosaurus.
It was believed to have been preserved in a glacier until washed ashore here Wednesday. Although positive identification by experts has not yet been made, Fairbanks physicians studying anthropology texts said the "creature' was "definitely prehistoric" and may belong to one of two species".
The creature measured nearly nineteen feet from tip to tail. It's head measured 2 feet by 2 ½ feet and its mouth featured a row of teeth 18 inches long.
"The animal had large hind legs and a heavy thigh bone which measured, approximately 4 feet from the hip to the first joint. The forelegs were short and heavy.
Leathery skin on the head and neck was covered with bristly hair and flesh almost completely covered the head, shoulders and hips. The backbone had broken through the animal's side and there was some evidence of decomposition".
Ten years later, in Alaska, on July 23, 1956, the Oakland Tribune had the following headline:
"MONSTER: Huge Hairy Beast Lies On Beach"
The monstrous carcass was discovered on the beach 60 miles southeast of here two months; ago by Earl Flemming,"
….Conservative estimates place the size of the monster as more than 100 feet in length and 15 feet wide at its broadest visible point". The creature was reported to have been covered with two inch long reddish brown hair; to have teeth which were six inches long and five inches wide at the base; ribs extending from five to six feet from its spinal column.
The story noted an expert saying that the hair ruled out any potential whale identification. Of course, some suggested that it was a prehistoric monster that had formerly been encased in a glacier.
What Stinks About This Story?
Collectively, these mysterious creatures are all collectively considered to have simply been whales or killer whales.
The details of each story have been lost in the scientific and skeptical assault over the years and so the fact that characteristics such as large backbones, hair and long tails, as well as the detailed measurement of thighs and forelegs precludes such an easy explanation.
Not only that, one of the creatures described as lizard- like was mostly intact. Since killer whales and whales are somewhat common to the area you'd think that the locals might have been able to correctly identify a dead whale. And why do dead whales look "prehistoric" anyway?
The Calaveras Skull
"CALAVERAS SKULL, a famous fossil cranium, reported by Professor J. D. Whitney as found (1886) in the undisturbed auriferous gravels of Calaveras county, California. The discovery at once raised the still discussed question of "tertiary man" in the New World.
Doubt has been thrown on the genuineness of the find, as the age of the gravels is disputed and the skull is of a type corresponding exactly with that of the present Indian inhabitants of the district.
Whitney assigns the fossil to late Tertiary (Pliocene) times, and concludes that "man existed in California previous to the cessation of volcanic activity in the Sierra Nevada, to the epoch of the greatest extension of the glaciers in that region and to the erosion of the present river canons and valleys, at a time when the animal and vegetable creation differed entirely from what they now are...." The specimen is preserved in the Peabody museum, Cambridge, Mass"….Classic Encyclopedia
This story achieved new prominence when it was written about in Michael Cremo's and Richard Thompson's 1995 Book: Forbidden Archeology, The Hidden History of the Human Race.
Evolutionists/materialists have been trying to kick dirt on this fossil since its discovery because it completely falsifies the human evolutionary timeline. They also hate the idea of this artifact because creationists keep citing it as proof that evolutionists hide from bad facts.
They have declared the issue closed and as a matter of fact it is quite commonly referred in the context, not of a controversy, but in the context of a hoax.
Here's a common version of that story:
"The Calaveras Skull was a hoax perpetrated by miners in Calaveras County, California.
On February 25, 1866, miners found a human skull in a mine, beneath a layer of lava, 130 feet (39 m) below the surface of the earth, which made it into the hands of Josiah Whitney, then the State Geologist of California as well as a Professor of Geology at Harvard University.
A year before the skull came to his attention, Whitney had published his belief that humans, mastodons, and elephants had coexisted in California, and the skull only served as proof of his convictions.
After careful study, he officially announced its discovery at a meeting of the California Academy of Science on July 16, 1866, declaring it evidence of the existence of Pliocene age man in North America, which would make it the oldest known record of humans on the continent.
However, its authenticity was immediately challenged. In 1869 a San Francisco newspaper reported that a miner had told a minister that the skull was planted as a practical joke. Thomas Wilson of Harvard ran a fluorine analysis on it in 1879, with the results indicating it was of recent origin.
It was so widely believed to be a hoax that Bret Harte famously wrote a satirical poem called "To the Pliocene Skull" in 1899.
Nevertheless, Whitney did not waver in his belief that it was genuine. His successor at Harvard, F.W. Putnam also believed it to be real. By 1901 Putnam was determined to discover the truth and he headed to California. While there, he heard a story that in 1865, one of a number of Indian skulls had been dug up from a nearby burial site and planted in the mine specifically for miners to find.
However, Putnam still declined to declare the skull a fake, instead conceding, "It may be impossible ever to determine to the satisfaction of the archaeologist the place where the skull was actually found."
To further complicate the issue, careful comparison of the skull with descriptions of it at the time of its discovery revealed that the skull Whitney had in his possession was not the one originally found.
However, J.M. Boutwell, investigating in 1911, was told by one of the participants in the discovery that the whole thing was indeed a hoax."...... WIKIPEDIA
What Stinks About This Story?
Number one, who knew that coal miners were such practical jokers? "Lets find the skull of an ancient human and hide it in the depths of a coal mine were those eggheads are sure to find it and have a conniption.
This gag will upset the who evolutionary timeline and plunge the scientific world into controversy. Who needs safe working conditions, health and retirement benefits and a decent hourly wage when we can have this kind of fun in our off hours"?
Who exactly were the perpetrators? It's always said that someone claims that someone planted the evidence. But who exactly? Where are the details? In other words, this artifact is declared a hoax by exactly the kind of evidence that science wouldn't accept if trying to establish it as a bona fide artifact.
However, a scientist (William Orville Ayres an American physician and ichthyologist.) who examined the skull early on, definitively ended all arguments by proving that the find is in fact genuine. Writing in the American Naturalist, he did so by first reminding his readers of all of the previous finds that had been made of similar character, location and import to the Calaveras Skull.
It stinks that his comments are not so well known because they would have carried the day for those interested in the truth.
"What manner of man then was this Ancient Man of Calaveras? Let him speak for himself. All notice of the skull described by Professor Whitney has been purposely omitted till this moment, because it is by far the most important " find " yet made, and it is worthy of being considered by itself and in the present connection.
In the belief that Professor Whitney was the victim of a sell, the question is often asked whether there is any evidence that the skull was actually taken from the shaft to which its discovery is credited.
Now with all due submission to previous judgment (or mis-judgment), I maintain that that question is of only secondary importance. The skull speaks for itself, and notwithstanding that its lower jaw is gone, it talks good English, whatever its vernacular may have been in the days of the flesh.
That it came to Professor Whitney from the hands of Mr. Mattison (or as I always heard him called, Matthewson), of Angels Camp, is certain. Where did Mr. Matthewson get that skull? I do not know, nor is the precise spot of much consequence. He says he took it from his shaft near what was then called the Forks of the Road, above Angels.
Suppose he did, or suppose he foolishly tried to humbug the geologist, what does it matter? He got the skull somewhere, and wherever it might have been first found, it surely was imbedded in the auriferous gravel, and it had become so imbedded at the time the gravel was originally deposited.
You say, that is a bold assertion ; how do you know it ? I will tell you ; I know it, because the skull told me so. I saw it and examined it carefully at the time when it first reached Professor Whitney's hands.But it has been said that it is a modern skull which had become incrusted after a few years of interment.
It was not only incrusted with sand and gravel, but its cavities were crowded with the same material; and that material was of a peculiar sort, a sort which I had had occasion to know thoroughly. It was the the common " cement " or " dirt" of the miners; that known in books as the auriferous gravel.
This is an article "sui generis-" it is not easily imitated. No skill possessed by Mr. Matthewson or any one else could have been sufficient to give the skull the characters which it had as I saw it. It is most certainly no fabrication.
This assertion, however, is never made by any one knowing the region. The gravel has not the slightest tendency toward an action of that sort. The skull would either decay and waste away, or it would remain unchanged; and added to this comes in the fact that the hollows of the skull were crowded with the solidified and cemented sand, in such a way as they could have been only by its being driven into them in a semi-fluid mass, a condition which the gravels have never had since they were first laid down.
No, no ! Let the skull tell its own story, and believe what it says, because it brings its own proof. Whatever age belongs to the gravel deposit under Table mountain belongs to the Calaveras skull, entirely irrespective of the "question of honesty or dishonesty in the alleged finder.
Wherever he found it, I believe its age to be beyond cavil"......The Man of Calaveras, American Naturalist
The problem the Calaveras Skull has in telling its story, like all such stories that don't fit into that of the ruling scientific paradigm, is that its proponents are more bone headed than he is as they continue to perpetrate their own great hoax, the theory of evolution.
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